Air
by Hoshi Hoshiko
Summary: Joseph is having trouble breathing and then fluffiness with Suzie...


_Air. He needed air!_

Joseph sat up in bed, one hand instinctively moving to the breathing mask that restricted the flow of air to his lungs. With frantic fingers and a heaving chest he pulled in vain at the mask, his chest constricting as his breath continued to catch in his throat worsening the situation.

Oxygen starved, his blind panic was only capable of registering one thought, namely; _I have to get this damn thing off my face!_

This didn't happen every morning, but when it had happened he could generally manage to calm himself and if that didn't work, Caesar would help him with minimal complaints. However, this morning he wasn't managing too well and from the lack of Caesar he guessed he was alone.

He was beginning to feel rather light headed by this point, and in an effort to conserve energy his body gave up clawing at the mask and allowed his arms to fall to the bed. His eyes blinked heavily, the white panic of his inability to breathe was quickly subsiding to a system shut down. _Wasn't this mask supposed to extend my life…_

He must have passed out after that because he felt certain there was some sort of gap in his memory when he suddenly found his head resting on something soft and warm, the gentle scent of roses making him smile groggily.

As Joseph's senses quickly returned he recognized the soft cooing of Suzie Q who at this moment was holding his head against her chest as she rubbed a wide circle on his back rhythmically.

Joseph was certainly not the kind of boy who could be called a gentleman. Since coming to the island he had used almost every opportunity he had to make some kind of attempt at flirting with Lisa Lisa's pretty house maid. And while he couldn't exactly call the outcome of said flirting a success, Suzie's stifled giggles and occasional blushes indicated that it also hadn't been a failure.

In most situations faced with the opposite sex, Joseph was as he always had been, a lout. But Grandma Erina's efforts to raise him to be some kind of respectable member of society came to the forefront in rare instances such as this. Faced with the softness of Suzie's chest, although hidden beneath the print of her cotton dress, Joseph felt it inappropriate to linger anymore without express invitation.

Clumsy as ever, he pulled away from her rather hastily, his face slightly flushed and his heart rate increasing speedily.

"Suzie! Ah… T-thank you. I'm fine now." He grinned broadly and rubbed the back of his head in an attempt to draw her attention away from his heated face.

Suzie was still looking slightly shocked at his sudden movement when suddenly her features crinkled cutely and she gave way to a small bout of girlish laughter.

"Jojo, you're blushing!" Suzie bit her lip as she drew her hand away from his toned back that was covered only by a light singlet.

Joseph's blush only intensified at the insinuation despite his immediate "No I'm not!" However, it only took him a few seconds more to fall back into his usual banter. "Anyway, if I was would you blame me?" He questioned with a smirk. "It's not every day that a man wakes up to a beautiful girl like yourself. Although, personally, I wouldn't mind it happening again…"

Suzie stared at him for a moment with a slight smirk of her own. "You wish…" She teased with a slight toss of her head. Her nose pointed up in defiance of his suggestion but Joseph noted the way her eyes opened quickly to glance at him from the side, filled with her usual optimism and cheeriness but also a playful curiosity.

"It's a good thing I have this mask on…" He mused aloud, while he ran one hand carelessly through his messy hair.

"Oh?" Suzie grinned.

Joseph leaned slightly towards her, his eyes bespeaking his endless playfulness that would forever be apart of him. "Otherwise I'd have kissed you by now…"

Suzie giggled openly in his face, calming herself after a moment or two she put on a careless air and twisted her index finger into a strand of blonde hair as if contemplating. "You know Jojo, I often wonder what you look like without that mask. It's a bit of a shame you have to wear it, I bet you're kind of cute under there." Her cheeks flushed a light pink and she squinted faintly at him as she finished her sentence with a small poke of her tongue.

Joseph felt his heart rate increase all the more as she spoke. She was terribly pretty before, but when she blushed Suzie exuded a sweet naivety that was near irresistible. Egged on by her teasing, Joseph leaned towards Suzie who allowed herself to rest more comfortably on her arm which was pressing into his mattress.

The closer they drew to each other the more intense the pink of Suzie's cheeks grew. Finally settling with mere inches between themselves, her long eyelashes sat heavily over her sparkling blue eyes mesmerizing Joseph who idly licked his lips beneath that darned mask!

His breaths growing deeper and his chest constricting again for another reason entirely Joseph once again for this morning cursed the breathing contraption.

"Once it's off I swear you'll be the first to know just how cute I can be…" He said lowly, a force unbeknownst to the both of them drawing Suzie's soft red lips towards his mask despite the futility of the action.

"I'll be the judge of that…" Suzie remarked slightly breathlessly.

It was pointless, but Joseph couldn't help closing his eyes as the mask gently brushed against Suzie's nose making her sigh cutely…

"Hey!"

The door to the room opened suddenly as Caesar stepped in. Suzie and Joseph turning their heads rapidly and staring at him wide eyed, both of them looking as though they had emerged from a dream, their faces lightly flushed and dazed.

Caesar smirked and placed his hands cockily on his hips. "I see…" He chuckled briefly to himself as he saw the filthy look Joseph threw at him. "Come on Jojo, play times over, Lisa Lisa wanted you downstairs half an hour ago…"


End file.
